Vheissu 10 Year Anniversary
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Vheissu and we’ve taken a moment to look back and reflect on the recording process, where we were as a band and the importance of the album for us.
“I think Vheissu is the Thrice record that I’m most proud of. Initially, we made a firm decision to take our time during the writing process so that we could explore some new territory sonically. Then, we made a decision to work with a producer (Steve Osborne) who would help us make the record we wanted to make, rather than working with a hitmaker/producer-du-jour that the label was suggesting. We worked at an incredible secluded studio/barn in Bearsville and totally immersed ourselves in making the record (to our detriment, at times – I remember having crazy anxiety attacks in the woods). And ultimately, I think we made a record that has stood the test of time, is strong top-to-bottom, and has a few great songs that are still some of my favorites to play live ("The Earth Will Shake”, “Of Dust And Nations”, “Red Sky”). We could have very easily fallen into trend-chasing, or tried to make a The Artist In The Ambulance: Part 2, but we trusted our guts, made the record we wanted to make with the producer we wanted to make it with, and I think it changed the career arc of our band for the better.”
“The thing I think of most when I think of Vheissu is being out at Bearsville studio outside of Woodstock in upstate NY. We recorded in the barn and stayed in the house set back from it 100 feet or so, both surrounded by trees or fields with a creek running by. The setting made for an interesting push/pull dynamic. One moment would find me in the middle of of intense recording and writing, and the next I’d be hiking through the woods or stripping a walking stick with a butter knife from the kitchen. I think we were out there almost two months and I can’t separate that place from that record.”
Vheissu was such an fun era for our band. I feel like we had a lot of people telling us what we sounded like, or who we are influenced by, or what we could be… They were all wrong, and we were going to tell them with a record. I never felt more ‘punk’ with Thrice. We were all on the same page, doing exactly what we wanted, how we wanted.
Vheissu was a turning point for us. I feel like we finally settled into our own as a band and everything that we’ve done since has hinged on the direction we found with this record. I have extremely fond memories of recording this record in rural upstate NY; perhaps a big factor in me packing my life up in busy SoCal and moving to a rural island in the NW several years later. I’ll never forget our chance meeting with Garth Hudson from The Band there either. The area we were in (Woodstock, NY) has a strong history of music from the 60’s/70’s and the aura still lingers there pretty heavily. I’ve no doubt being immersed in that atmosphere also reignited my love for the music I grew up hearing my parents listen to–an influence that has also resounded with me since that day forward.
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